DarkWinter Press New Release: The Profiler's Shadow by Joelle Circé!

DarkWinter Press is thrilled to announce our latest release, the incredible psychological thriller The Profiler's Shadow by Joelle Circé, available now in paperback and e-version for Kindle. You can buy it here!

About The Profiler's Shadow :

Mary Dubois’s quiet life as a writer shatters when the Sûreté du Québec arrives at her door. A killer is staging gruesome tableaux in the Québec wilderness, and he’s left a message: he will only communicate with Mary. Mary, a former profiler, must leave her hard-won seclusion to hunt a monster who seems to know her every move and weakness. Reunited with her ex-lover, Officer Teresa Cook, and confronting the open hostility of her old tormentors in the police force. Mary finds herself drawn deeper into a web of psychological warfare. The killer’s notes are not just clues, they are invitations into a shared, violent history she never knew she had. To stop the slaughter, Mary will have to turn her terrifying insight inwards—before she becomes his final masterpiece…

Advance Praise for The Profiler's Shadow:

"With her debut novel, The Profiler’s Shadow, Joelle Circé introduces readers to a new heroine to root for: Mary Dubois, a former profiler, now a successful author. Circé offers up a twisty plot full of surprises, and a cast of exciting characters—most notably Mary, who is battling her past traumas while racing to find a serial killer before he adds her to his list of victims. The Profiler’s Shadow proves to be a welcome psychological crime thriller with a protagonist who is an intriguing and resilient transgender woman. In today’s divisive world, we need more characters like Mary and more voices like Circé’s."

— Robyn Gigl, author of the critically acclaimed Survivor’s Guilt, one of TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Best Mystery & Thriller Books of All Time’

"Joelle Circé’s The Profiler’s Shadow is a journey into the dark heart and soul of a vicious serial killer, a journey faced by the killer’s nemesis, Mary Dubois, a trans woman, author, and criminal profiler whose own demons in her personal and professional history must be overcome in order to stop the slaughter. That the killer intends to make Mary the ultimate victim in his murder spree adds to the page-turning terror of this extraordinary book. The Profiler’s Shadow is a true edge-of-the-seat read, a thriller to the very last page. Brava, Joelle Circé, for bringing the brilliant and courageous Mary Dubois into my reading life!"

— Ann Aptaker, author of the award-winning Cantor Gold crime series

The Profiler’s Shadow is a detective story that is both smart and suspenseful. Joelle Circé has crafted a fascinating and unique main character, criminal profiler Mary Dubois. Mary is not the usual confident, swaggering sleuth. She suffers from anxiety and PTSD, and as a trans woman, struggles with body dysmorphia. In The Profiler’s Shadow, she not only chases a ruthless killer targeting LGBTQ+ victims, but she also seeks love, friendship, and belonging. The heartwarming conclusion will leave readers satisfied.

— Zilla Jones, author of The World So Wide

About Joelle Circé:

Joelle Circé came to fiction after decades as an accomplished painter, driven by a lifelong desire to translate her imagined stories into words. As a seventy-one-year-old queer, transgender woman, she has claimed a distinct space as Canada’s only trans woman author of psychological crime thrillers. Her work masterfully exposes the gritty, sinister aspects of human nature and modern relationships through gripping, suspense-driven plots. Like her earlier work, Circé’s fiction focuses on authentic LGBTQ+ representation, complex trauma, and the resilience of found family. As an avid crime fiction fan, she brings an elite, highly particular perspective to classic noir, weaving her deep creative instincts directly into the genre. Based in Montreal, she is a proud member of Sisters in Crime, the Guppies, and the Crime Writers of Canada. The Profiler's Shadow is her debut novel.